But Tuesday's shameless excuse-making came directly from Donald Trump, American president. While it was just-slightly-less-insulting to the intelligence of anyone forced to listen to it than was Sanders' appalling fuck-you-of-a-statement, the gravity of the issue at hand has to factor into the assessment:

MORE: Trump says he meant to say in Helsinki that he saw no reason why it would not be Russia that interfered in elections

This was the grand plan from the White House after the whole western world rose up in arms against Trump's performance standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference Monday: Uhh...we meant to say wouldn't, not would!

Never mind that Trump spent that entire disgraceful charade siding with Putin at every turn against American officials and American interests. Just open up, take a spoon full of this complete and total bullshit, and swallow it. What an insult, and it only serves to make Trump look even more weak. Having completely submitted to Putin at the press conference, the American president waited until he was thousands of miles away to pretend he's mustered the courage to confront an adversary. What a big, strong president.

Sadly, we can safely expect the various Concerned Republican Senators to pronounce themselves placated by this and sit idly by, having found an excuse to revert to their default setting of profound moral cowardice.